Doll ankle joint mechanism



March 5, 1957 R. GARDEL ET AL 2,783,587

DOLL ANKLE JOINT MECHANISM Filed Oct. 5, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS W y ATTORN EYS March 5, 1957 R. GARDEL ET AL 2,783,587

DOLL ANKLE JOINT MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1955 @g/fz,

INVENTORS BY aha M r W ATTO NEYS U ed States "OTce,

DOLL ANKLE JOINT MECHANISM Robert Gardel, New York, and Arthur Rogovin, Far Rockaway, N. Y.

Application October 5, 1955, Serial No. 538,572

3 Claims. (Cl. 461-173) This invention relates to a doll ankle joint mechanism, and particularly to such a mechanism which has the following advantages:

(a) It is of simple and sturdy construction.

(b) It is easy to install during manufacture of the doll.

(c) It provides articulation of the foot to the leg, such that the foot is held, by frictional engagement, in any adjusted position between a flat-footed walking position and a toe-dancing position.

(d) The engagement of the foot in every position is firm and does not change appreciably with time or'wear.

(2) After the foot has been initially attached to the leg, it cannot be removed or become maladjusted (without at least partial destruction of the leg and/or foot).

It is the object of the invention to provide an improved mechanism which exhibits the above, and other,'advantages.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a doll leg having the foot held in walking position;

Fig. 2 represents a similar view of the doll leg having the foot turned to toe-dancing position;

Fig. 3 represents a side elevation, on a larger scale, of the foot and lower leg in walking position, part of I the foot being broken away to provide a vertical sectional view;

Fig. 4 represents a view similar to Fig. 3 with part of the leg being also broken away to provide a vertical sectional view;

Fig. 5 represents a view similar to Fig. 4, with the foot turned to toe-dancing position, as in Fig. 2;

Figs. 6 and 7 represent, respectively, side and plan views of the foot bracket;

Figs. 8 and 9 represent, respectively, edge and front elevations of the connecting rod;

Fig. 10 represents a vertical section through the foot bracket, showing its engagement with the connecting rod, the foot being omitted and the lower leg being shown in full lines;

Fig. 11 represents a bottom plan view, looking up, of the end of the leg, the mechanism being omitted;

Fig. 12 represents a vertical section through the lower leg portions, shown separated, and

Fig. 13 represents a perspective view of the same portions.

Referring to the drawings, the doll leg is shown as comprising molded front and back sections 1 and 2, respectively, cemented together along the suture line 3 in a customary manner. The foot is conveniently made also of two parts, the upper part 4 and lower part 5 being joined along the suture line 6. The inner bottom surfaces of the leg sections constitute, when the sections are fastened together, an approximately circular abutment 7 having an elongated slot 8 opening downwardly from the middle of said abutment. For reasons set forth below, it is desirable to have more than half of the abutment 7 (e. g., 2). This result may be achieved as shown most clearly in Figs. 11', 12 and 13, by extending the leg walls and adjacent abutment surfaces of the section 1 well past the line constituting the longitudinal axis of the slot 8 and by cutting away to a corresponding extent the leg walls and adjacent abutment surfaces of the section 2,

while having a rectangular tooth 9 projecting from the rod 11 and the spring 12. The bracket 10 is formed from a flat strip of metal, longitudinally slotted through- 1 out most of its length and bent to the shape shown in, Fig. 6 wherein most of the slotted part'is arcuate while The slot may extend a short distance into the end 10 as shown in Fig.7. The

the ends 10' and 10" remain fiat.

bracket 10 is rigidly mounted in the foot by having its ends set or cemented into the inner portion of the upper foot part 4 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5 in such a position that the bracket extends in the front-and-back direction across the ankle opening of said foot part. The instep and heel edges of said opening lie preferably at points corresponding to projections upward and rearward, respectively, of the are formed by the bracket.

The connecting rod 11 is also formed from a flat strip of metal, having laterally projecting stops 13 at the top, an inverted T-shaped projection 14 at the bottom and an outwardly sprung locking leaf 15. 'For shipping and assembly purposes it is desirable to provide also a hole 16 above the leaf 15. The spring 12 is preferably a helical spring of uniform diameter and considerable stiffness under compression; it should terminate in a substantially closed ring, at least at the top, and its inner diameter should be only slightly greater than the width of the strip 11. The upper end of the spring is designed to bear against the stops 13. The projection 14 is so shaped and proportioned that the stem can lie freely across the width of the slot in the bracket 10 while the arms, with their upstanding lugs 14', embrace said bracket (as shown in Fig. 10) in such a manner as to prevent any axial rotation of the connecting rod 11.

For mounting the connecting rod 11 and spring 12 in a doll leg, the spring is placed on the rod and compressed upward to a point where it can be held by a removable pin (not shown) inserted through the hole 16. The lower end of the spring is then brought to bear against the abutment 7 at the bottom of the section 1 and the rod is pulled down farther, against the force of the spring, until the pin lies below the bottom of the leg section, with the rod lying in the slot 8. Because the abutment 7 bears against more than half of the base of the spring, there is no serious tendency for the spring and rod to jump out of this partially assembled position. The leg section 2 is then fitted onto the section 1, the tooth 9 taking its place to complete the formation of the slot 8. A finished foot, having the bracket 10 mounted therein is then applied to the projecting end of the rod 11 by passing the projection 14 through the slot in the bracket and then rotating the foot so that the arms of the projection will embrace the bracket, as previously explained. With the parts held in this position, the pin is removed from the hole 16, permitting the spring to draw the connecting rod into the leg and thus draw the bracket 10 strongly against the rounded bottom end of the leg, as clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 10. The locking leaf 15 projects far enough laterally from the connecting rod to prevent the latter from being drawn out again through the slot 8, so that the parts are permanently assembled,

, Patented I Mar. 5, -1957 i. e. thewfoot-cannot-be removed without breaking the leg-ortat.leasttbreakingaway part of the lateralwall of.

the slot 8. In its assembled condition, the rod 11 normally cannot be pulled down far enough to permit the projection '14 to be disengaged from the foot bracket;- ev en ifit could insomecases bepulled far; enoughythereis no convenient way (withoutspecial tools) tohold it extended, against the strong pull-of the spring, whileturning andfreeing'the foot.

The operation-of the mechanism-is evident from the foregoing description and from examination, particularly of Figs.- 1 to 5. The center of curvature of the arcuate part ofthe foot bracket is located at a point corresponding approximately'to the axis of the human ankle joint; ln anyadjusted position, an appreciable portion of said position (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) the motion may be limited by contact ofinstep edge of the foot opening with the front surface of the leg, while motion in the opposite direction (Figs; 2 and 5) may be limited by contact of the heel edge with the back surface of the leg.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What-we claim is:

1. A doll ankle joint mechanism comprising, a leg Such arcuate part of-the bracket always rests firmly against the Y tom surface. .and, beingt.,provided Wlth ,a S1Q t, extending substantially vertically through its bottom, a foot member having an ankle opening adapted to receive the lower end of the leg member, a bracket extending across said opening in a front-and-back direction and having upper and lower arcuate surfaces, a connecting means passing through the leg slotand having means for frictionally engagingthe lower arcuate surfaceof said bracket, and means Within the leg member and cooperating with said abutment for holdingsaid connecting means in a position such that the upper arcuate surface of said bracket rests infrictional engagement with the rounded bottom surface of the leg member.

2. In a doll ankle joint mechanism, a foot-to-leg connecting means comprising an elongated metal strip having means for engaging a spring, an inverted T-shaped projection atits lower end, and a laterally projecting resilient lockingleafi permittingmovement of the strip, upward through a slot and preventing movement, of;:thc. strip downward .throughithe same slot.

3. Ina doll ankle joint mechanism, a connecting means according to claim 2 which'includes a perforation-above the locking *leaf, and a helical spring surroundingsaid I strip and under compression between the spring-engaging means and a removable stop passing through said -perforation.

References Cited in the file ofthis patent- UNITED STATES PATENTS 807,473 Kolar; s ,Dec. 19, 1905 1,654,933 Heyrnan ,Jan. ,3,v 1928 2,359,425 Katz Oct. 3,,1944

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